We’ve collected the best of the best advice on how to repel mosquitoes during your camping trip.

Take a look at our exhaustive list below and pick a few options to add to your gear on your next trip!

Lemon Eucalyptus Essential Oil

Mosquitoes just don’t like these oils, so when you put them on your skin they won’t like you either. Mix a half teaspoon of lemon eucalyptus essential oil with a cup of water in your spray bottle and apply to your skin as you would any other spray repellant.

Destroy their Breeding Sites

The most effective method of warding off mosquitoes is to identify and destroy their breeding sites. Locate the sources of standing water within a radius of several miles. Mosquitoes prefer still water for laying eggs and usually steer clear from aerated or circulating water. Common sources of standing water include: puddles, buckets, bird baths, rain gutters, downspouts, ditches, garbage cans.

Introduce Natural Predators

The gambusia fish, also known as the western mosquitofish, eats mosquito larvae. Dragonflies are a top predator of mosquitoes – dragonfly larvae live in the water and feed on mosquito larvae, and adult dragonflies eat adult mosquitoes. Other species with an appetite for mosquitoes include ants, ground beetles, spiders, water striders, frogs and snails. Birds such as purple martins and bats have also play a role in managing insect populations, including mosquitoes.

Use Your Garden

Some gardeners swear by certain types of geranium plants to keep mosquitoes at bay. Others grow lemon thyme and lemongrass to yield oils that are supposed to serve as effective insect repellents. Other herbal remedies recommended for battling mosquitoes include mountain mint and even basil.

Citronella Candles

Citronella candles, which contain oil made from lemon-scented plants that are native to Asia, have long been used for this purpose. Citronella is an oil that is considered a natural insect repellant. Many companies make candles infused with citronella oil and a few lit candles can be effective around camp. Though they aren’t typically strong enough to ward away the masses, citronella candles do minimize the bugs.

Catnip Oil

Scientists have also reported that oils found in catnip can be effective at repelling mosquitoes.

Light Colored Clothing

Electric Fan

Nothing beats an old-school house fan. It’s clear that mosquitoes avoid flying through a 10-mile-per-hour airstream. The fan also provides steady wind while diluting and dispersing the carbon dioxide you exhale — a major chemical known to attract mosquitoes. However, fan control solutions may be difficult at campsites without electricity.Mosquitoes can fly but they are terrible at it. You can use that to your advantage by using a fan and blowing it across the area where you will be sitting. It should be just enough to disrupt their flying and they will avoid the area because they feel off balance. If you don’t have electricity, hope for a good, steady breeze.

Lavender

Lavender has considered a natural insect repellant and a number of sunscreens have lavender oils for a little-added bug protection.

Avon’s Skin so Soft

Avon’s Skin So Soft products are considered by many people to be the most effective insect repellant that does not contain DEET.

Raw Garlic

Garlic is also thought to ward the bugs away, but you’ll have to eat a lot of raw cloves to see any results. Many people swear that garlic steers bugs away from them. It doesn’t hurt to try, so why not add a few extra cloves of garlic to your dinner!

Insect Repellant Clothing

A few outdoor clothing companies make clothing with insect repellent in the fabric. These shirts actually work well. You can also by a wash and treat your own clothing. The advantage of wearing treated clothing is that you don’t have to put toxic creams or sprays on your skin.

Mosquito Coil

Mosquito coils can also be effective around your campsite. The pyrethrum-infused coils emit a repelling scent and smoke. A few coils placed strategically can help decrease the mosquitos.

Mosquito Repellent Lantern

There are camping lanterns that are customized for insect repelling. A removable cartridge on these lanterns emits a scent that fights the bugs and keeps them away from the lantern’s vicinity. These insect repelling lanterns have removable cartridges that need to be replaced.

Screen Room

When all else fails, the clothing, the repellant, candles, coils and lanterns just won’t keep the bugs away, consider a screen room. Try to purchase a screen that has openings that zipper from the bottom up and are located in the centre. The D-opening style I would not recommend if you are a family with small children, as they are a tripping hazard. Remember to make sure the entire bottom of the tent is sitting flush on the ground. Place rocks on the lower flap. Mosquitoes are heat seekers, so even the tiniest of holes allows them to enter.

Coconut

Not only is coconut practically the official smell of summer, but it’s also said to be a natural bug repellant. Use coconut soap to wash yourself, and finish up by rubbing coconut oil into your skin. Bugs should steer clear, and your skin will be gloriously soft.

Be Smell-less

Aside from a little coconut, you should aim to smell like nothing at all. Bugs love our fragrant perfumes, colognes, shampoos, shaving creams, deodorant… the list goes on. Opt for unscented products to blend into the environment as well as possible.

Deet

The number one chemical product on the market is NN-Diethyl – Meta-Tolumide or as we know it “Deet”. Although it is harsh in smell, Deet does work wonders.